I'll Be Home For Christmas
by CJS51703
Summary: Mettaton is away from the house pretty often, but he's made it a goal to not miss Christmas. But this year might be the year that he doesn't reach his goal.


*****What's this? A Christmas special? Yep, I'm here now. What else can I say other than...Papyrus and Mettaton go to Toby Fox, Roxanne goes to me, and let's jump right in!**

Mettaton considered himself lucky that he'd gotten into the airport, even if his flight had been delayed by an entire day. He was a little low on battery, making him tired and cranky to an extent. It was common knowledge that traffic would be terrible; it was Christmas Eve, and snow had piled up badly as far as the eye could see. But, Mettaton was pretty darn determined to get home to his family. So, he pushed through the crowd of people, ignoring what they mentioned about being "stuck" inside, in his rush to get home. What he was met with was a staff member of the airport at the door.

"Sorry, buddy. No one's allowed to leave at the moment," he explained. But Mettaton still wasn't going to give up just yet. "And just why am I not allowed to leave, _darling_?" he asked, trying his best to maintain an aura of professionalism. "Snow's piled up outside. Roads are closed. Lots of people have gotten caught in some pretty bad accidents already," the airport staff member said.

That was a solid reason.

"Well, when can I go home to my family?" Mettaton asked impatiently. "At the rate of things right now and off of what the road crew said? I'd say...day after tomorrow, maybe the day after that even," the airport security staff member guess.

Mettaton was starting to lose his cool. "Listen up. I've been away from my family for quite some time now on tours and shows and things. I've missed many occasions with my husband and my daughter. But one I refuse to miss is Christmas!" he ranted.

The airport staff member shrugged the reaction off. "Sorry. No one can leave," he said. He eyed the robot for a moment as he added, "no matter how sexy they may be."

Mettaton was too angry to accept the compliment. "Whatever," he grumbled. His fury went on until he sat down. Then, it was replaced with utter sadness. He took out his tablet and set up a Skype call. It would be best if he broke the news now. He tried to appear happy, but it made him somewhat genuinely smile to see Papyrus on the small screen.

"Metta!" the skeleton exclaimed in excitement. "Hello, Papy, darling. As good as it is to see you, can you get Roxanne? I have some rather horrible news to share, and it involves both of you," Mettaton sighed. Papyrus frowned at that. He left the camera for a moment and came back, sitting on the bed again with Roxanne going to sit on his lap. "Hi, Dad. You have some bed news?" she said. She turned on the subtitles to make things easier.

"Yes. I was supposed to be home yesterday, but my flight was pushed back. Then I was supposed to be home today, but the roads are close due to snow and accidents. Apparently, no one's leaving the airport until at least the 26th. I'm sorry, but...I'm afraid I won't be home for Christmas this year. But you can have me on the phone or on Skype all day!" Mettaton said, trying to make things somewhat better.

"Oh. The...the Great Papyrus understands," Papyrus said, looking and sounding absolutely heartbroken by the turn of events. "Roxanne? Do you have anything to say?" Mettaton asked.

Roxanne didn't say a word. She just ended the call. Now that was a shocker for Mettaton. He immediately set up another call. "What was that about?" he asked. "I don't know. She just ran off! I'm going to see what I can do to help. I'll call you back with an explanation later," Papyrus said. "Alright. I love you," Mettaton said before he ended the call. It wasn't too long after that he got another idea, and he dialed a number he knew all too well.

"H-hello?"

"Alphys. Darling. I must ask you a question."

"G-go for it."

"How will my body do in the snow?"

"...p-pardon?"

XxX

Papyrus put away his tablet before going to another room just down the hallway. Roxanne's back was turned to the doorway. She was completely still and just as silent. It was also just as worrying. Papyrus sat down on her bed and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"It isn't fair," she said at last. Then she turned around. "Pardon?" Papyrus asked.

"I know that Dad's a performer. And it's really cool that he goes all over the world. But what I don't like is that he's always gone! He's missed all sorts of things. This is the first year he's missed Christmas. I'm not surprised that he has. Sometimes...sometimes I feel like I hardly even know him," Roxanne explained. Tears started rolling down her face.

Papyrus hugged her, stroking her hair as he did so. He internally wasn't too sure of what to do. He felt like crying as well. There were many nights where his bed felt a little too big. And he had never gone a Christmas without Mettaton. But he had to do _something_ about Roxanne.

Right?

He gently took her face from his shirt, both of which were soaked with tears. "I'm sad about it too, really. But...we can still call him, and speak to him on Skype," he reminded. "Yeah, I guess we can," Roxanne agreed. "And we still have each other, and the rest of our family," Papyrus went on. Roxanne cleaned herself up with her nearby blanket. "Yeah," she agreed, smiling a little. "Now, I think we have some hot chocolate in the house. Do you wanna go make some?" Papyrus suggested. "Yeah. Let's go," Roxanne said. Then, they went to the kitchen.

XxX

The house came into view in the dark, snowy night.

"Thank God!"

XxX

After hot chocolate and a marathon of Christmas movies and specials came time for bed. Both Papyrus and Roxanne had fallen asleep together on the couch with the TV still running. When a sound other than the mindless reruns was audible, Papyrus' state of sleep was permeated. He was never that much of a heavy sleeper, so waking him up wasn't hard. Once he saw no one there, he turned off the TV before falling back asleep.

"Merry Christmas, darlings!"

Papyrus jolted awake at the sound, and Roxanne jolted awake because her dad's sudden movement had thrown her into the floor. She scrambled to stand up and see what was going on.

Mettaton, although covered in snow and soaked by it with the _bleep-bleep-bleep_ that indicated that his battery was low blaring, was home. He picked up Roxanne and held her in a tight hug, and he wasn't surprised when she hugged back even tighter.

"Dad, you said that you wouldn't be home until after Christmas!" she recalled. "I know, darling. One 'disappearance' of a security guard and a few hours of trudging through snow later, I'm here. I've never missed a Christmas at home. I'm determined to keep a clean record," Mettaton explained. He smiled a little after he recalled the incident with the airport security guard. "I'm just glad you're here," Roxanne said. Mettaton kissed her head gently.

He looked over to Papyrus and motioned for him to come over. "Don't be shy," Mettaton said. Papyrus swept him up in a surprisingly strong hug, giving him a kiss on the cheek. His hug had been much more forceful than expected and Mettaton tumbled back onto the couch, taking his family with him.

"Oh! And I have presents for you both from all of the cities I went to on tour," he said after everyone was off of him. "Yay!" Papyrus and Roxanne cheered in unison. "But they're for tomorrow," Mettaton added. "Aw..." Papyrus and Roxanne complained, still in sync.

Mettaton laughed warmly at their reactions. "I think it's time we all went to bed for the night. My battery's low, and it's very late. And I can tell that _someone's_ getting sleepy," he said, looking at just who he meant.

Roxanne was leaning on Papyrus, practically half-asleep. "I'm not getting sleepy," she said through a yawn. "I beg to differ," Mettaton snorted, smirking. Roxanne didn't respond. She fell asleep nuzzled up to Papyrus' side.

He picked her up, bridal-style. "Like when she was a baby," he recalled. Mettaton nodded. "Let's put her to bed," he said. Papyrus nodded in turn. So, he went upstairs with his daughter in his arms and tucked her into bed, kissing her on the head. Mettaton, who had followed, gave her a kiss there as well.

The robot and skeleton went off to their room. In no time at all, they were both ready for bed and Mettaton was all plugged in to charge. "It's good to have you back. It gets a little lonely when it's just me in this room. Don't get me wrong, I love Roxanne, and she's as great as the Great Papyrus in my opinion. But...I married you, and it's good to have you here," Papyrus said.

Mettaton hugged him. "I'm glad you're here too. Because there's nothing like a Christmas with my adorable daughter and my loving husband," he said. "I love you too, darling," Mettaton reciprocated.

And then, safely and warmly nuzzle in each other's embrace for the first time in a while, they both fell asleep.

 *****That would be that. Well, that's all I have for ya for now. Happy whatever-ya-celebrate, leave a review, and I'll see you all later! Bye!**


End file.
